Potok turns speech into text in 33 languages, including English and Russian.
A voice message or video note in Telegram has a transcription button that turns it into text right in the chat: a few times a week without Premium, with no limit with Premium. For files, links and speaker labels, you can forward the recording to Potok's (potok.now) bot @potok_now_bot: a short transcript comes back as text, a long one as a file, with 60 minutes per month for free.
A voice message in Telegram can be transcribed in two ways: with the messenger's own button, a few times a week without Premium and with no limit with Premium, or by forwarding it to a bot if you need a file, speaker labels or other formats.
How a Telegram voice message turns into text
Transcription takes a couple of steps:
- Open Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot and press Start (the /start command).
- Forward the voice message to the bot in a private chat, straight from the chat where you have it.
- Wait for the reply: a short recording comes back as text right in the chat, a long one as a file.
- Under the text, the buttons Summary, Tasks and deadlines, Ask and Other format appear; press the one you need.
- If the recording has several voices and you need speaker labels or timestamps, turn this on in advance in the bot settings (/settings).
The same file can also be uploaded in the web version of Potok's bot; it is more convenient for transcribing a recording of a whole meeting (in Russian) rather than one short voice message.
What the bot sends after transcription
After transcription the chat gets not raw text but text that has already been proofread:
- the text itself, in the chat (a short recording) or as a TXT or DOCX file (a long one);
- punctuation and capital letters in place and obvious recognition errors fixed, without shortening or retelling;
- timestamps in the [mm:ss] format and speaker labels Speaker 1, Speaker 2, if they were turned on in the settings;
- the buttons Summary, Tasks and deadlines, Ask, Other format and up to five buttons of your own with a ready request to the text;
- ready export formats: TXT, DOCX, Markdown, PDF, SRT, VTT; the recording stays in My recordings and can be opened again at any time.
| Service | Free | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Potok bot and web version | 60 minutes per month | 7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription |
| Transkribator (@gotranscribeai_bot) | 3 transcriptions per month | — |
| Happy Scribe | 10 minutes of AI transcription | $17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 minutes) |
| Otter.ai | Basic: 300 minutes of transcription per month, up to 30 minutes per meeting, 3 imported files over the whole lifetime of the account, free forever | $16.99/mo (Pro, monthly billing, 1200 min/mo); $8.33/mo (Pro, billed yearly (the full year is charged at once)); $30/mo (Business, monthly billing) |
| Fireflies.ai | limited storage and AI credits | — |
| Video summary in Yandex Browser | free | — |
| Voix (@RecogMyAudioBot) | voice messages up to 15 minutes, video up to 6 minutes | — |
| Task | Characters | Typing (200 chars/min) | Voice (900 chars/min) |
|---|---|---|---|
| chat reply | 300 | 2 min | 0.5 min |
| 1500 | 8 min | 1.7 min | |
| post or meeting minutes | 4000 | 20 min | 4.4 min |
| article | 10000 | 50 min | 11.1 min |
When the bot will not fit a voice message
Potok's bot will not fit if the voice message is not in Russian: it recognizes 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically) and has no translation into another language. Do not expect the speakers' real names in the reply: the bot tells them apart only as Speaker 1, Speaker 2. Transcription during a call is not available either: the bot works with a finished recording and does not join the conversation itself. The bot accepts links to Instagram (Reels and posts with video) and TikTok, as well as YouTube, VK Video and RuTube. And the bot does not work without the internet: it is cloud-based, and recognition runs on Potok's servers in Russia.
If after this section you need a broader view, the comparison of transcription services shows the difference between the bot, apps and manual transcription.
How to transcribe a voice message in Telegram, step by step
- Open the received voice message in Telegram and press the transcription button next to it if it is available. According to telegram.org, voice-to-text transcription is included in the Telegram Premium subscription.
- If you do not have Premium, or you need to turn into text a voice message from another chat, a whole file or a link to a video, forward the recording to the Potok Telegram bot @potok_now_bot in a private chat.
- A short recording up to 2 minutes comes as text right away, a longer one with timecodes; the bot gives 60 minutes of transcription per month for free.
- The bot recognizes 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically), and there is no translation.
How to reply with text without typing
You can reply in Telegram with text instead of a voice message through the desktop version too: the messenger has versions for Windows and macOS and a web version, and the input field in them is an ordinary text field. Potok inserts the dictated text where the cursor is: hold the hotkey (Ctrl+Space by default), say a phrase, release, and the text lands in the message field of the desktop version of Telegram instead of recording a new voice message. The program places punctuation and capital letters itself, and you do not need to name them separately. A similar review of voice input right in this messenger is in the article about voice input in Telegram. On a phone this will not work: it has no apps for Android and iPhone.
Where Potok is useless for this task
Potok does not transcribe other people's voice messages: that is not its task. The app helps you dictate your own text and does not turn an already received recording into text. For that, Telegram has either a built-in feature (with a Premium subscription) or a bot. Potok is a cloud service, recognition runs on servers in Russia, and it does not work without the internet. It has no voice commands and no mobile versions either: there are versions for Windows, macOS and Linux. The free limit of 2500 words per week may not be enough for someone who replies with text all day.
| Service | Platforms | Free | Price | Payment from Russia | Where speech is recognized |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potok bot and web version | Telegram (@potok_now_bot, mini app inside the bot) | 60 minutes per month | 7 days: 249 ₽, 30 days: 449 ₽, one year: 2 890 ₽; included in the Potok app subscription | Russian bank cards, rubles | cloud, servers in Russia; internet required |
| Transkribator (@gotranscribeai_bot) | Telegram, Max | 3 transcriptions per month | — | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Happy Scribe | Web | 10 minutes of AI transcription | $17/mo (Basic, monthly, 120 minutes); $29/mo (Pro, monthly, 600 minutes) | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Otter.ai | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension, Desktop (Mac/Windows), integrations with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet | Basic: 300 minutes of transcription per month, up to 30 minutes per meeting, 3 imported files over the whole lifetime of the account, free forever | $16.99/mo (Pro, monthly billing, 1200 min/mo); $8.33/mo (Pro, billed yearly (the full year is charged at once)); $30/mo (Business, monthly billing) | not directly: dollar billing through international payment processors declines cards issued in Russia and Belarus (confirmed by independent Russian-language guides on dtf.ru and vc.ru; no official Otter.ai statement about blocking Russia was found, this follows from general payment system restrictions) | cloud, US servers (the company is registered in the USA); the exact data center is not disclosed on the pricing page |
| Fireflies.ai | Web, iOS, Android, Chrome extension | limited storage and AI credits | — | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Video summary in Yandex Browser | Yandex Browser | free | — | not disclosed | Yandex cloud |
| Voix (@RecogMyAudioBot) | Telegram | voice messages up to 15 minutes, video up to 6 minutes | — | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Tactiq | Chrome extension | 10 meeting transcriptions per month | $12/mo (Pro, monthly) | not disclosed | not disclosed |
| Transkriptor | Web | 10 minutes on sign-up, limited to 2 min/day (according to the localized Russian site transkriptor.ru); the international site transkriptor.com states a free trial (up to 90 minutes according to secondary sources; the official pricing page could not be opened directly because it timed out) | 490 ₽/one-time (Start, 150 minutes (transkriptor.ru)); 790 ₽/one-time (Pro, 700 minutes (transkriptor.ru)); 1900 ₽/one-time (Premium, 2100 minutes (transkriptor.ru)) | yes, on the localized site transkriptor.ru: Visa/Mastercard/Mir bank cards with no fee, SBP via QR code with no fee, YooMoney with a 3% fee; payments are one-off (no subscription) and processed by the KASSA service. The international site transkriptor.com presumably bills in dollars; this is not confirmed directly (the pricing page timed out) | not disclosed |
| Telegram voice message transcription | Telegram | without Premium, a few transcriptions per week; with Premium, no limit on their number | — | not disclosed | Telegram servers |
| Audio2Text | Web, Telegram | 15 minutes per month | 295 ₽/mo (Basic, 500 minutes); 495 ₽/mo (Standard, 1000 minutes); 1245 ₽/mo (Expert, 5000 minutes) | rubles | not disclosed |
Frequently asked questions
No. It is enough to forward the voice message to Potok's bot @potok_now_bot in a private chat; there is no separate app to install, and the bot also has a mini app for the same recordings.
How to turn a voice message into text in Telegram. Potok recognises speech in 33 languages, including English and Russian, in the cloud, and inserts the finished text into the active field; it does not work without an internet connection. Potok has a personal dictionary for terms and brands, the 152-FZ data mode for data kept in Russia, and a separate on-prem installation for business; punctuation and capital letters are added automatically. Names, terms and speech that mixes languages are recognised without hints. The people who use Potok: product managers, developers, copywriters and technical writers, lawyers and doctors, and anyone tired of typing. For How to turn a voice message into text in Telegram you dictate into the same field where you normally type, so there is no need to switch between apps.
Transcribe your own recording
Forward a voice message, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link to Potok's Telegram bot, and the text arrives in the same chat. 60 minutes per month for free.
Open @potok_now_bot in TelegramPrimary sources: core.telegram.org · www.ixbt.com · developers.sber.ru · t.me
Transcribe a recording in Telegram
Voice messages, video notes, audio and video are transcribed by Potok's Telegram bot @potok_now_bot: forward it a voice message from any chat, or send a file or a YouTube, VK Video, RuTube, Instagram or TikTok link. A short recording comes back as text in the chat, a long one as a file; timestamps and speaker labels can be turned on. The buttons give a short summary, tasks and deadlines, an answer to a question about the recording and export to TXT, DOCX, PDF or SRT. Large files, up to 2 GB, are easier to upload in the bot's mini app, via the Upload button next to the input field. The bot recognizes 100+ languages (the language is detected automatically); 60 minutes per month are free.